Current doctoral students are invited to apply for the 2023 TheoEd Graduate Prize, sponsored by Candler School of Theology’s public theological education initiative The Candler Foundry. The award aims to give the next generation of academic leaders the opportunity to cultivate skills in public theology through the creation of their own TED-style talk related to their research and teaching interests. The application closes on May 1, and one winner will be selected. Apply here.

Recipients of the TheoEd Graduate Prize receive $4,000, plus an all-expenses paid slot in a future presentation of TheoEd Talks, where leaders in the church and the academy share “the talk of their lives” in 20 minutes or less and spark conversations that change the way people think about God, religion, and the power of faith to change lives. Past speakers include Austin Channing Brown, Jim Wallis, Kristin du Mez, Otis Moss III, and Mihee Kim-Kort, among others.

Doctoral students in an accredited PhD/ThD program in any area of religious or theological studies can apply by submitting a video recording of a highly polished, memorized talk under 20 minutes, designed for a public audience. Learn more and apply.

Jennifer Carlier, a Louisville Postdoctoral Fellow at Candler, was one of two inaugural prize winners in 2022. Carlier presented a talk at the September round of TheoEd Talks in Atlanta, and says that the opportunity allowed them to share their work with a much broader audience, and to think about their research in fresh ways.

“The dissertation is a very specific medium,” Carlier says. “This talk felt different, like a direct approach to my research. I asked myself, ‘What is it that I really want people to know?’ and started writing about that. It provided a great moment to pause and reflect and ask the broader ‘so what?’ question of my research. I walked away with a better sense of what I care about and a clearer direction for where I want to go next.”

Perhaps the most meaningful result of the experience, Carlier says, has been witnessing how students have begun applying Carlier’s research concepts in their own lives. “That’s something I couldn’t and didn’t envision in my research. It’s exciting to see other people take some of these ideas and go beyond them. That, to me, is the best thing about sharing research with others.”

Learn more about the 2023 TheoEd Graduate Prize and apply here. Contact TheoEd@emory.edu with any questions.